A Minor is also available in Art History. Click Here for more information

Bachelor of Arts Degree in Art History

TCU offers both Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in art history. As a student, you will receive a well-balanced education that will prepare you for a variety of careers. The art history faculty is committed to excellence in teaching and the value of a liberal arts education. As an art history major, you will have one of the art history faculty members as your academic adviser, who will assist you in developing and completing your degree plan.

Bachelor of Arts

A major or a minor in art history may be taken on the B.A. degree. The art history program provides a broad undergraduate foundation in the humanities and the preparation necessary for professional careers in art. Potential careers open to art history majors include teaching, research, art administration, art writing/criticism and museum/gallery professions.

The art history faculty offers courses ranging from the survey level to the most advanced. Courses also offer a range of methodological approaches from the traditional core of art history, such as connoisseurship, to more recent fields of inquiry, such as gender and ethnic identity. In addition to learning subject matter and approaches, you will develop skills in critical inquiry, problem solving, and expressing yourself both orally and in writing.

As art history possesses a strong interdisciplinary component, we encourage our students to take advantage of other departments and programs on campus and abroad. Art history majors have participated in the TCU Honors Program and completed Junior Honors Seminars and Senior Honors Projects on such topics as "Flaubert and Courbet: Interpretations of Realism," "Myth and Imagination in the Life and Work of Max Ernst," and "Religious Imagery in Contemporary Stained Glass Windows."

As an art history major major you may participate in the 3-2 BA/MBA program with the M. J. Neeley School of Business. As a student in the College of Fine Arts, you will have the opportunity to work closely with students in studio art, graphic design, theater, dance, and music. The College of Fine Arts has close ties with the College of Communication as well as the AddRan College, and many of our students take courses campus wide.

The Admissions Office at TCU
Art History Faculty

Degree Requirements

The requirements for the major are Art 10043, one 20000 level art history course, plus 24 semester hours of additional art history courses, including a minimum of 21 advanced hours. Additionally, 6 hours are required in studio courses (10103, 10113, 10123, 10133, or other courses approved by the department). Majors are expected to enroll in a broad range of courses, including both pre-modern (pre-1800) and modern (post-1800).

Art history majors should pay particular attention to the language requirement: 6 semester hours at the 20000 level, or demonstrated proficiency. Those students intending to continue work at the graduate level should develop a proficiency in a second language. German, French or Italian are recommended.

Requirements for a Minor in Art History

Art 10043, one 20000 level art history course, plus 15 semester hours of art history courses to be determined by the student and approved by an art history adviser.

Current Courses

(a number of courses meet a TCU CORE requirement)

ART 10043 Intro to Art History (CORE – Fine Arts)
A survey of the history of visual arts, with emphasis on (but not limited to) art of the Western tradition. Students are introduced to key monuments, artists, artistic styles and movements, and art historical issues of different periods, as well as with significant relationships between art and its historical and societal contexts. The course also exposes students to different art historical skills, approaches, and methodologies.

ART 20003 The Classical Tradition in Art (CORE - Fine Arts)
Focusing on the visual arts of ancient Greece and Rome, this course surveys the impact, importance and influence of classicism on art from Antiquity to Postmodernism.

ART 20063 Medieval Art (CORE - Fine Arts)
A survey of major Medieval works--architecture, painting, sculpture, religious objects, and illuminated manuscripts--dating from the 3rd century through the 14th century.

ART 20073 British Art: Medieval to Modern (CORE - Fine Arts)
A survey of British Art from the Middle Ages through the Modern era.

ART 20083 American Indian Art & Architecture: South America, Mexico, and North America (CORE - Fine Arts)
A survey of the indigenous arts and architecture of the three major culture areas of the New World: Pre-Columbian traditions of the central Andes and Mesoamerica, and archaeological and historic traditions of North America.

ART 20093 Art of Mexico from 1500 to the Present (CORE - Fine Arts)
This course offers a broad overview of the art of Mexico beginning with the joining of Aztec and Spanish traditions in the colonial period, through the independence and revolutionary periods, and continuing until the present-day.

ART 20103 17th and 18th Century European Art (CORE - Fine Arts)
Survey of European art during the 17th and 18th centuries with emphasis on major stylistic and thematic developments in painting, sculpture and architecture. Artists studied include Caravaggio, Poussin, Bernini, Rubens, Rembrandt, Velazquez, Vermeer and Watteau.

ART 20113 A New World: Survey of American Art (CORE - Fine Arts)
Survey of American art from its colonial beginnings to the present day. Emphasis is placed on analyzing works of art critically and examining them in light of their historical and social contexts.

ART 20303 19th and 20th Century Art (CORE - Fine Arts)
A survey of the traditions and significant changes that characterized the visual arts during this fertile period in the history of art.

ART 20403 Introduction to Visual Culture (CORE - Fine Arts)
An introduction to modes of critical inquiry in art history through the study of major works of art.

ART 20503 Survey Topics in Art History (CORE - Fine Arts)
Occasional courses offering broad surveys of topics, such as the history of landscape painting, portraiture, and public sculpture. Courses may relate to and take advantage of special museum exhibitions.

ART 20603 Art History on Site (CORE - Fine Arts)
This travel course surveys the visual arts from ancient times to the present by examining actual works of art and architecture on site.

ART 20833 History of Visual Communication (CORE – Fine Arts)
This course surveys the rich history of visual communication, with particular focus on two-dimensional work and visual communication of the twentieth century.

ART 30003 Junior Honors Seminar
Directed readings in art and art history.

ART 30073 Modern British Art (CORE - Writing Emphasis)
Prerequisites: 10043 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor. An examination of the visual arts of Britain, focusing on the development of modernism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

ART 30113 American Art to 1913
Prerequisites: 10043 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor. A study of the visual arts from the colonial period to the advent of modernism with the Armory Show.

ART 30123 American Art Since 1913
Prerequisites: 30113 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor. A study of 20th century visual arts in the United States.

ART 30143 The Inka and Their Predecessors: Ancient South American Art (CORE - Writing Emphasis)
Prerequisites: 10043, or one 20000-level Art History course, or permission of instructor. The course examines the art and architecture of the major cultures of the Pre-Columbian central Andes (Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Chile), ranging from the Chavín who emerged at about 900 BC to the vast empire controlled by the Inka.

ART 30153 The Aztec, Maya, Olmec: Ancient Mesoamerican Art
Prerequisites: 10043, or one 20000-level Art History course, or permission of instructor. This course surveys the art and architecture of the major cultures of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica (Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras), ranging from the Olmec, whose great tradition in stone sculpture emerged in about 1200 B.C., to the Aztec empire, which the Spaniards conquered in the early-sixteenth century.

ART 30163 Maya Art and Architecture (CORE - Writing Emphasis).
Prerequisites: ART 10043, or one 20000-level Art History course, or permission of instructor. This course is an in-depth study of the art and architecture of the ancient Maya.

ART 30173 Early Italian Renaissance Art
Prerequisites: 10043 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor. Painting, sculpture, and architecture in 14th and 15th century Italy. Emphasis on Giotto, Masaccio, Donatello, Ghiberti, and Brunelleschi. Creative abilities of the Renaissance artist of the 14th and 15th centuries.

ART 30183 High and Late Italian Renaissance Art
Prerequisites: 10043 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor. 16th century art and architecture in Italy. Special attention to Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, and Titian, with consideration of the changing role of the artist in Italian society.

ART 30193 Northern Renaissance Painting: Van Eyck to Bruegel
Prerequisites: 10043 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor. Painting and printmaking in Germany and the Netherlands from the 14th through the 16th centuries. Artists studied include Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Breugel, Holbein, and Durer.

ART 30203 17th Century Italian and Spanish Art
Prerequisites: 10043 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor. Examination of stylistic, cultural, historical aspects of painting, sculpture, and architecture of Italy and Spain in the 17th century. Artists studied include: Caravaggio, the Carracci, Bernini, Borromini, and Velazquez.

ART 30213 Drawing as Artistic Invention (CORE - Writing Emphasis)
Prerequisites: 10043 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor. The history and technique of drawings from the 15th through the 18th centuries. Emphasis on Raphael, Michelangelo, Rubens and Rembrandt. The class will be scheduled to coincide with traveling exhibitions of drawings at the Kimbell Art Museum.

ART 30333 Modern Art I: Romantic Classicism to Impressionism (CORE - Writing Emphasis)
Prerequisites: 10043 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor: Major movements and issues in European art from 1780 through the 1880s.

ART 30343 Modern Art II: Van Gogh to Dali
Prerequisites: 10043 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor. European art movements from the 1880s to the 1940s.

Art 30353 Picasso: Artist of the Century (CORE - Writing Emphasis)
Prerequisites: 10043 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor. Examination of the art, life and influence of Pablo Picasso, who altered the course of the visual arts of our century.

ART 30363 17th Century Flemish-Dutch Painting
Prerequisites: 10043 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor. A study of Netherlandish painting during the Golden Age of Rembrandt and Rubens.

ART 30413 Women and the Visual Arts, 1500-1800 (CORE - Writing Emphasis)
Prerequisites: 10043 or permission of the instructor. Exploration of women as artists, patrons, and subjects in art.

ART 30500 Special Topics
Prerequisites: 10043 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor. Independent studies and occasional courses are offered. Such courses may include: African Art, British Painting, American Architecture, History of Art Criticism, and European Study. (1-6 sem. hrs.)

ART 30600 Art Study Abroad
Prerequisites: Art 10043 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor. An intensive, on-site study of art and architecture of foreign lands. Sites have included Europe, the former Soviet Union, Greece, Egypt, China and the South Seas. Includes pre-travel lectures with slides. (1-12 sem. hrs.) Note: Art history and art studio majors should consult with their advisors before enrolling, since credit hours applicable to their degrees may be limited.

ART 30603 Art Since 1945
Prerequisites: 10043 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor. Aspects of recent styles and issues in relation to historical origins.

ART 30613 Modern Architecture: 1750 to the Present (Core - Writing Emphasis)
Prerequisites: 10043 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor. Architectural styles, movements, and personalities from 1750 to the present.

ART 30623 History of the Print (CORE - Writing Emphasis)
Prerequisites: 10043 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor. Examination of historical development of the graphic arts from earliest phases to modern prints.

ART 30633 Art in the Metroplex
Prerequisites: 10043 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor. Focus on exhibitions and permanent collections of Metroplex galleries and museums.

ART 30823 History of Photography (CORE - Writing Emphasis)
Prerequisites: 10043 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor. History of photography with emphasis on its development.

ART 30833 History of Graphic Design
Prerequisites: 10043 and one 20000 level course, or permission of instructor. History of graphic design with emphasis on 19th and 20th centuries.

ART 40003 Senior Honors Project
Directed research projects in art and art history.

ART 40970 Special Problems
Directed individual problems beyond the scope of regular courses in each of the art specialities. Note: No student may enroll for a Special Problems course without first discussing the nature of the intended studies and obtaining written permission of the instructor. (1-18 semester hours)

ART 40980 Directed Study in Art History
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Study under faculty supervision which will emphasize writing. Weekly meetings with instructor. (3-6 semester hours, maximum 3 hours per semester.)